Street-service box for water and gas.



W. M. RAPP. STREET SERVICE BOX FOR WATER AND GAS.

I APPLIOATIO N FILED OUT. 4,1910.

Patented July 16, 1912.

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WILLIAM M. RAPE, OF ATLAN'TA, GEORGIA.

STREET-SERVICE BOX FOR WATER AND GAS.

i, Specification of Letters Patent.

To all whom-it may concern: Be itknown that I, rimmer M! R'AIP, acitizen of the United States, and a. resident of Atlanta, county ofFulton, State of Georgia, have invented an Improvement in Street-ServiceBoxes for \Vater'and Gas, of which the following is a specification.

' My invention has reference to street service boxes for water and andconsists of to certain improvements which are fully set forth. in thefollowing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings whichform a partthercot.

lileretott'ore it has been customary to pro to vide street curb waterand gas service boxes,

' being held in its place by a screw.

with removable top or lid with tap number on it, to designate theparticular cock, for the convemence of the department, this top Muchinconvenience has resulted from the fact that the screw rusts inposition, and also requires a special tool for removing it. i It isoften broken in being removed. The top or lid, with tap number, becomeslost, causing a great inconvenience in locating the proper tap; and thebox also becomes full of dirt, the obstructions thus causednecessitating the digging up of same.

The object of my invention is to provide a. construction of water andgas service box for curb cocks which shall be devoid of the callydefined in the claim.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a waterservice box for street curbcocks embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a.plan View of the same with the plug removed; Fig. 3 is a plan view ofthe plug; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the plug inverted; and Fig. 5is a sectional elevation showing a modification or the curb box.

A-is the curb cock and as ordinarily made, is pr'fivided with thethreaded portion D. The service or curb box is provided with a pipe Bextending down from the pavement and may be'provided on the lower endwith a sleeve which is screwed upon it, the other end of the sleevebeing screwed upon the threaded portion D of the body of the curb cockA. Secured lo the top of this tubular portion B is the top casting E ofthe service box, thcunion being made by fitting the cylindrical socketF, on the under portion of the top casting, over the upper end of thetube and screwing it in place by a set screw (l. The socket portion F ismade ofa very loose lit upon the tube and is also of a depth to allow ofvertical adjustment so as to compensate for any variation in the levelof the street pawment relatively to the position of the curb cock. A setscrew G may be arranged close to the bottom of the upper or socketportion F so as to be always in posi- Patented July 1c, 1912.

tion to clampthe top casting of the box upon the tube for all positionsof adjustment. This construction permits the box to bc extensible.

.lleterring moi-c specifically to the top casting l and plug therct'or,said. casting is provided at the upper end of its socket portion l withan annular flange ll having an apcrl urc K in its center, said aperturebeing above the opening in the upper end of the tube li 't'orlning thelower part of? the box. The aperture K is of smaller diameter than theinternal diameter of the, socket portion F soas to provide an internalflange TJ which is provided with an annular depressed upper surface andwith a plurality of notched portions M (Fig. 2). The top outer flange llof the top casting has the letters spelling the word \Vater or Gas,according to the particular use, and the tap nun'ibei' of curb cockcorresponding to the record number on the-departments records. The word\Vatcr or Gas is indicated at l and the number at J, said designationsbeing preterably in relief, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The plug l is cylindrical and provided with a flange Q at the top whichfits the recesscd flange portion L of the top casting E so as to haveits upper surface preferably substantially flush with the upper surface.of said casting. The body part of the plug loosely fits the cylindricalaperture K in the top casting E and the lugs P of the plug pass downwardthrough the notched port-ions M ,,and, upon turning the plug, pass underthe flange L and thereby lock the plug from being withdrawn. The plug ismade to form a snug fit into the seat on the top casting E but so as tobe easily rotated and withdraun when requirtd.

The upper-portion of the plug is recessed too.

expensive .only part which can become as at Q and provided with a crossbar R l which acts as a handle to lift itand also to turn it, whether byhand or by the ordinar key which is used to turn the curb cock A. Theseparts Q and R of the plug are below the upper surface so as not toproject above the normal level ot the pavement. The parts Q. and R maybe made in other ways, if so desired, so long as they provide a recessand a part ther in to receive a key.

In practice, the dirt or rust will-be amply sutlicient to retain theplug in locked position as long as may ,be required; and when it isdesired to remove the plug, this may be easily done by using the regularkey required for the curb plug A and without the necessity of anyspecial tools. Under no conditions can the plug become so tightly heldin the top 'casting but that it may be easily removed; and to remove itonly requires a quarter turn instead of many turns. It is also evidentthat by placing the number of the curb cock on the flange .l;l insteadof on the top or lid as heretofore the-loss of the plug will not removethe tap record number. This is a matter of much in'iportance, first,because of the impossibility of the key-mans locating the curb cockreadily and, secondly, because to cast a new top or lid with the specialtap number, is both and troublesome. The plug. is the lost and thisfrequently occurs; but, as all of the plugs are alike,.the replacing ofthe plug is a matter of only nominal expense.

In place the cock A. to the pipe B, this maybe dis pensed with byexpanding the lower cud of the tube ill as indicated at C in Fig. 5, thesaidpart lit't ing over the cock A withoutall necessary is tirmly heldin the ground and sup ported by the wide flanged top casting. 3ecause ofthe chcapness of this construction, I prefer to employ it in connectionwith my of usin the, sleeve G for unitin I3 I! being screwed upon it,which is not at' because of the fact. that the I service box. In somecases the lower constructlon would have to be changed to suit I theshape and form of the curb cock eml'ployed and hence I do not restrictmyseli in this respect. The lower part- B of the box may be made of castiron instead of wrought tubing if 'so desired.

I have shown my invention in the form which I have found excellentlyadapted to its commercial use and while I prefer the details shown, theymay be modified within the scope of the claim without departing from thespirit of the invention.

Having now described my invention, wharv I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

In a curbbox for valves of water or pipes, the combination of a pipeleading down to the curb cock, with a top casting having a deep socketportion loosely fitting over the upper end of the pipe and adjustablyclamped thereon and also having an extended outer flange portion oflarge radius provided with the oflicial record marking of the box todesignate itslocation said top casting further having a. central openingof small diameter bounded with an inwardly extending annular flangearranged below the upper surface of the extended flange portion saidannular flange having notchcs opening laterally into the centralaperture on opposite sides thereof, and a renmvablc tlanged plug looselyfit ing the central aperture so as to be below the nppersurfacc of thetop casting and also h a ring two oppositely ar ranged lugs integralwith its lower part to pass through the notches in the. 'tlange ot' thetop casting and engage the under side of the unifotched portions thercolwhen the plug is t'urned.

ln tcstimony of which invent-ion, I here unto set my hand.

WILLIAM M. llLQPIl Witnesses A. B. Fnorn, R. B. SIMMS.

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